Multi-Robot Coordination and Pursuit System (MRCoPS)

The military is investigating the use of autonomous systems to support combat troops and reduce their exposure to dangerous situations. Many of the applicable missions require the coordination of multiple unmanned systems. This Phase I effort addresses the issue of coordinating multiple robots for pursuit in urban environments. Robot-human pursuit teams will have a number of challenges in communications, resource allocation, task coordination, and general interaction. Architecture Technology Corporation proposes to develop a Multi-Robot Coordination and Pursuit system that will operate on various levels of autonomy to assist the human operator(s) in controlling the multi-robot team. The approach will allow the operator to guide the team through the building, map its interior, establish sentry points, utilize line of sights, and minimize the chance of missing the subject or having the operator stumble upon the subject. Our approach can be scaled up to any number of robotic and human team members, and it will work with ground-based robotics, and other autonomous systems such as micro-UAVs, and sensor networks. Phase I will concentrate on design and analysis, and Phase II on prototype implementation and test. Phase III will focus on insertion into an on-going DOD program.